OK KO!: KO's Journey
by StrollinStu
Summary: My second OK K.O. story. This time, K.O. wakes up in the middle of a forest, having no clue where he is or how he got there. He knows the only way to get home is to get moving! But nature isn't exactly kind to K.O., and he finds it won't be such an easy road back home. UPDATE: It's been about 6 months. School, life, anxiety, etc. have gotten in the way. Will update soon
1. Unfamiliar Territory

**OK K.O.: K.O.'s Journey**

Written by: A dude who loves animation

K.O. woke up, not in his bed, not in the bodega, not anywhere familiar. When he woke up, he felt sore, his head hurt, his knuckles were bruised, and he felt dirt and scratches on his face.

He sat up and rubbed the side of his head, and he began to take a look at his surroundings. He was in the middle of a forest, encircled by tree's. Within this circle he was in, was a tree stump and several patches of dirt.

K.O. managed to pick himself up and walked over to the tree stump. He wasn't limping, but still found it a bit hard to walk. He sat down, closed his eyes, put his hands on his head, and tried to remember what events got him in this situation.

He remembered walking into the Bodega for work. Rad and Enid were already there, and Mr. Gar was out on a mission. The store was extremely busy that day. There was hardly a moment to breathe as customers kept on coming. After a few hours, things finally calmed down. K.O. clearly remembers Rad having to drag him to the break room, where they both laid down to recover.

The only other thing K.O. could remember was Enid calling him and Rad to help with Boxmore robots.

"Urggh! My head!" K.O. said as he felt a headache. "I can't remember how I got here. Maybe my phone can give me my location." He reached for his phone but realized it was not in his pocket. He checked his jacket and felt nothing. He then realized he had left it charging in the break room when he went to go fight.

The only thing he managed to find on him was a egg shaped device, about the size of one. It was a light blue, with a dark blue ring in the middle of it. K.O. fiddled around with it, but nothing was happening.

"This looks like something from Dendy's hackpack," said. "Did she give this to me? Ow! It hurts to think right now." He put the device back in his pocket, and he stood up. "Well, I guess if I want to get back to the Plaza, I guess I should start walking."

K.O. looked around in multiple directions. All he saw were tree's. "WHERE DO I GO?!" he screamed as his voice echoed throughout the forest. He started to feel scared, but he composed himself.

"Many great heroes have had to overcome great trials and perils," K.O. said, trying to psych himself up. "Yeah, I can get through this! I'm a level three hero. I've been through way scarier things than this! I'll be back home in no time!"

He then began to rub his chin as he began to ponder what direction to go. He walked over to the divet in which he landed. "If I ended up here, then I guess I should goooo," he paused. "This way!" he said turning around and pointing straight ahead. He walked forwards through the trees as he began to venture into the forest.

As K.O. began his venture, he realized his legs were sore.. He could still walk ok, but he was going slower than normal. While he walked, he kept trying to remember everything that had happened beyond what he already knew, but he continued to draw blanks. He could still only remember his day at the Bodega.

"Man, I wish I could remember everything," K.O. said. "I just hope someones out looking for me. Haha, what am I saying? Of course my friends are looking for me. They're probably all really bummed I'm gone."

K.O. then began to daydream about people looking for him. A thought bubble popped up above his head, depicting crayon drawings of Rad and Enid uncovering K.O. in a set of bushes, and both giving him a hug. The rest of his friends then appear around him as confetti rains down.

"Yeah, everyone's looking for me. I'll be back home with my friends in no time!" K.O. said optimistically. He went back to walking, this time while whistling a jolly tune. This jollyness did not last for awhile as K.O. suddenly tripped on a root and face planted the ground with a force.

"Ow!" K.O. exclaimed. "Guess I gotta watch where I'm going, hehe." He picked himself back up and began to walk more cautiously. It was hard for him to navigate this section due to all the trees in his way.

"Oh I know, I can climb up one of these tree's to get a good view!" K.O. said with excitement as he began to climb a tree next to him. "Maybe I'll see the plaza, or my house from up there!" K.O. reached the top of the and peered out from the leaves at the top. His heart sank when all he saw were more trees every which way.

K.O. nervously chuckled. "I guess I'm further out than I thought," he said. "That's ok I guess. It'll be like those guys in TV who go out and survive in nature." A lightbulb then appeared over K.O.'s head. "If I travel through this forest and get back to the plaza, then I can tell everyone my gripping tale about how I survived the elements, and conquered nature!" K.O.'s mind then began to drift again. This time, he was standing on the cash register, his face covered in camo paint and leaves as everyone from the plaza gathered around to hear his story.

"And there I was, surrounded by nature," his imaginary self said. "Surrounded by nothing but tree's, and no company except my inner thoughts. No food, no water, no wifi!" His imaginary crowd then gasped. "It was a tough, unrelenting path. But thanks to my wits and awesome survival skills, I successfully made it out of Lakewoods most dangerous forest!" The imaginary crowd began to cheer and clap, with his imaginary mom picking him up and hugging him.

"Ahhh," K.O. said happily as he was still daydreaming. His daydreaming bubble popped as a random monkey was shouting at K.O. This wasn't an ordinary monkey, however. Half of it's face and it's arm's had a metallic, robot look to it. K.O. shifted his eyes towards the monkey who's hands turned into small arm cannons and they began shooting what K.O. hoped was mud.

"Ahh!" K.O. shouted/ "Cybermonkey! Stop! Stop!" K.O. then began jumping from tree to tree to try to get away. The monkey, however, followed K.O. and remained hot on his trail. Other cybermonkeys appeared and began to scream, chase and shoot as well. Some shot the mud, others shot little seed like pellets, which to K.O., were worse as they stung more.

"Oww! Oww! Stop monkeys!" K.O. shouted. "Why are you guys so mean? What happened to the real monkeys?" K.O. was continually pelted with a barrage of rapid fire seeds and the strange smelling mud. He kept jumping forward onto other trees, which just summoned more monkeys. "Stop! Please!" K.O. pleaded as his eyes began to tear up. The cybermonkeys continued their pursuit.

K.O. continued his hopping, but at one point he missed a jump and he fell back to the ground. He managed to land and continued running as fast as he could. With the soreness in his arms and legs, he could barely outpace the cybermonkeys. He eventually caught a break as he made it to a small cliffside. K.O. slid down the tiny cliff and started to run again. He then realized after a few seconds he was not being followed anymore. K.O. stopped and looked back to see the group of monkeys standing at the side of the cliff. One of them looked down, then turned around and walked away, with the rest of the group following.

K.O. wiped sweat from his forehead and took a moment to breathe. He then turned around to face where the monkeys just were, "That's right! You better run!" He then turned around and began to walk away with confidence. "Looks like that's the first part of my awesome story. That I, K.O., nature survivor extraordinaire, escaped an army of…" Before he could finish that statement, a fruit from the tree above him hit him on the head, interrupting him and causing him to fall on his back. "I guess I can just say I ran away from them. I'm sure everyone else would have done the same."

He picked himself up and began to walk once more, taking the fruit with him. He walked for a good while, most likely a few hours. He eventually decided that he needed a break, so he laid down under one of the tree's. He pulled out the bean shaped object he discovered earlier, and began to fiddle with it.

"Oh come on you weird pill thing," he said. "You have to be helpful in some way. Why can't you have some buttons? Why do I feel like this was something Dendy made?" K.O. then realized, he had seen Dendy sometime before he woke up. He began to try to think once again.

This time, he remembered something new. He had met Dendy on the way to work that day, and the two chatted for a little bit, about what K.O. couldn't remember. He then remembered Dendy giving him the pill thing and then probably explaining what it was, and how it functioned. He just couldn't fully remember that last part.

"Oh! Come on brain!" K.O. said. "Ugh, ok. At the very least, I know this was something Dendy gave me. I-just-wish-my-head-didn't-hurt-to-stop-me-from-remembering!" K.O. said as he continually hit his head with his fists. "Maybe my brain will remember later. For now, I need to get back to my journey home!" he said as he stood up and pointed towards the direction he was going.

He continued on for awhile. He did not encounter anything else dangerous. He eventually found another circular are devoid of trees. K.O. saw this as a place to stop for another break. He walked over to an old tree stump and layed down on it. The sun was beginning to set over him.

"At least the sunset still looks nice," K.O. said to himself. "Maybe I'll stop here and rest up for the night. Hopefully by tomorrow, they'll either have found me, or I'll make it back." He took out the fruit from earlier and began to eat it. It tasted ok, he was just happy to have some food. "Man, I could really go for some of mommy's spaghetti. Or lighting nachos, or even one of Rad's hot dogs. But I guess you can't be picky when out in nature." He finished the fruit and stared up at the sky as the sun set and nightfall came.

"Wow!" K.O. said looking up in amazement. "I can see all the constellations. There's the big dipper, little dipper, and even the pine dipper." K.O. then paused. "I wonder if mommy is looking up at the constellations right now. I bet she's worried sick." K.O. then clenched his fist and his face was filled with determination. "I'll come back to you mommy. I promise. But now, rest." The boy drifted off to sleep.


	2. Bears without Honey

K.O. woke up the next morning. He was glad to see that his headache was mostly gone. He still felt somewhat sore, but still managed to get up, ready for the days inevitable challenges. He took out the pill again and messed with it a bit more. He then tried to remember more about the previous day. Despite his head feeling better, he could not remember any new information. But the conversation between him and Dendy regarding the pill still rang in his mind. He pulled out the pill again.

"Come on," K.O. said. "You have to do something. I know Dendy gave you to me for a reason." He shook it, he bit it, he gave it commands, he even spiked it on the ground. But his efforts were to no avail. "At least it doesn't break easy. Like my phone." He put the pill back in his jacket pocket, and began walking through the tree's once again.

K.O. found himself rather enjoying this walk. He walked for a while without any falling fruit, monkey encounters, or anything. It was peaceful, yet also lonely for K.O.

"As nice as this is, it would definitely be a lot better if I had some company," he said. "Like Enid, since she likes hopping through tree's like a ninja. Or Baby T-Rex. He needs to learn how to go in the woods anyways. I guess Rad too, but I don't think nature is his thing."

As K.O. contemplated these things, he was looking down, and didn't happen to see the giant bear he ran into.

"Ouch. Sorry Mr. Bear," K.O. said. The bear turned around, and K.O. was immediately struck with fear. Half of the bears face was metalic and had a red robotic eye. The bear gazed down at K.O. and let out a vicious growl.

"CYBERBEAR!" K.O. screamed in horror as he crab walked back to a tree trunk behind him. The bear leaned down and let out another vicious growl. As K.O. looked at the bear in horror, he saw a gap in between the bears legs. K.O. quickly slid under the bears' legs and took off running.

"I gotta get it to an open area so I can attack it!" K.O. said as he was running from the bear. The bear gave chase with fast, unrelenting speed. It was hot on K.O.'s trail. K.O. found another small opening where he jumped out into it and flipped in the air to where he landed facing the direction of the oncoming bear. The bear popped out of the trees still charging at K.O. full speed. K.O. tooks his fighting stance and stared down the bear.

"One power fist autta take you down, you poo bear," K.O. said. He then reeled back his fist and thrusted it forward. "Power fist!" he yelled.

Nothing happened.

"Wuh what! My attack!" K.O. said in absolute shock. Before he could take further action, the bear slammed into K.O. with it's fisted paw, slamming K.O. in the left eye. The punch landed, and time stopped briefly upon impact, and it resumed sending K.O. rocketing backwards, slamming into a tree, causing a huge divot.

"Oww! Not again!" K.O. said as he put a hand over his eye. The bear immediately charged towards K.O. again, thins time pinning the boy up against the tree. The cyberbear roared viciously in K.O.'s face. K.O. felt he was staring down the face of death itself. He tried to scream, but the bear's vicious roar were too loud for anyone to hear.

In a rush of adrenaline, K.O. managed to punch the bear in the face, causing it to stumble back, and allowing K.O. to jump off the tree and land behind the bear. K.O. then thrusted forward, landing another punch into the bears back. K.O. bounced off the bear from the punch, and used another punch to thrust himself forward, landing another hit, this time to the back of the bears head. The bear stumbled forward and ran into the tree he had K.O. pinned on.

"Let's see if it works now. Power Fist!" K.O. exerted his energy and managed to create a blue powerfist. It wasn't as big as it normally was, but it still managed to hit the bear, making it slam it's face into the tree, and cause a cloud of smoke the appear. When the smoke cleared, the bears head was lodged into the tree, now disconnected from its body, which fell to the ground.

K.O. was panting. That power fist took a lot out of him. After taking a moment to recuperate, he did a fist pump.

"Take that you robo menace! I have bested you!" K.O. said with cockiness. He then breathed a sigh of relief and smiled. "I don't think anyone is going to believe any of this." K.O. then looked over at the remains of the robo bear and walked over to it. "But what happened to the wildlife. I remember mommy and I used to go into the woods outside our house all the time, and all the animals were normal. What is this crazy place?" K.O. pondered that question for a few moments while he regained himself.

"I guess I'm not at 100%," he said. "It took two tries to get a power fist, and even then it was so much weaker." He then started to feel anxious. He still had no idea where he was, and the wilderness was seemingly out to kill him. He then shook his head. "No time to sit and worry while everyone else is worrying about me." He once again marched forward, but he kept the feeling of anxiety at the back of his head.

Some time later, he found another fruit tree and managed to knock down two fruits. He sat up against the tree and took a break.

"Hopefully I can regain some of my energy," he said. "I wonder what this is. It tastes pretty good. I wonder if maybe I can find another one." He then stood up and looked up at the surrounding tree's as he walked. He accidently stepped on something thorny. "Yow!" he shouted in pain as he grabbed the hurt foot and began hopping backwards. Thankfully for him, nothing got stuck in the foot. As he stopped hopping, he noticed something walking through some of the trees in the distance. "Must be another bear. I gotta make a stealthy escape!"

This stealthy escape lasted all of three seconds as K.O. accidentally stepped onto the tail of a cybermonkey that appeared seemingly out of nowhere.

"Uh oh," K.O. said. The monkey began to scream, and soon another small army of monkey was upon him, pelting him with pellets and mud. As K.O. tried to shield his face from the barrage, he looked up to see the cyberbear standing over him. K.O. dodged the bears' swipe and began running. He looked back briefly and turned around only to run into a tree, which caused a beehive to fall onto K.O.'s head.

"AHHHHHHHH! NOT THE BEE'S!" K.O. screamed in horror and terrible pain as many bee's began to sting his face and body.. He threw down the hive and took off as fast his legs could take him. He now had a militia of monkeys, bee's, and another cyberbear chasing him.

"Can't I catch a break?!" K.O. said fearfully as was running for his life. "Oh why? Why is this all happening?" said the sprinting K.O. in a very sad tone. Tears formed and began pouring from his eyes. "Ugh *sniff* why?" he said with a stuffy nose. "Why is everything out to hurt me? Why am I here? I didn't do anything wrong! I JUST WANNA GO…"

Before K.O. could finish, he ran straight off a ledge. The ledge of a giant waterfall.

"HOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOME!" K.O. shouted as he fell down the massive waterfall. It was quite the huge drop, and K.O. landed face first on the water. The cyber animals and bee's did not give chase. They all stopped at the waterfall, and then dispersed.

K.O. floated face down in the stream for a few moments. He didn't feel like moving, but knew he couldn't breathe underwater. He rolled over and continued to float until he reached the end of river, which led out to a small pool like area. He managed to climb out of the water, walked a few steps, and then collapsed.

He curled up and laid there. Cold, alone, afraid, and broken.

"I just wanna be home. I wanna see my friends. I want to eat real food, and I want to be away from here!" He pulled the pill out of his pocket and looked at it. It's properties had not changed. "Guess your not affected by water. Think you could actually help me?" he asked the pill angrily. He threw the pill on the ground and he frowned at it.

K.O. sat in silence, staring down at the device. He eventually picked it up again.

"I messed with you all day," he said. "Why won't you work?" He felt around the pill again. He ran his finger around the dark blue ring, hoping it would do something, which it didn't.

"*sigh* There's no use getting angry over it," he said. "That's not going to help me. Though I really just want to pull this thing apart." He then pulled on both sides of the pill. He then had the idea to pull and twist. How it came to him he wasn't sure, but he did so anyway.

The device suddenly opened up.

This spooked K.O. to where he dropped the device and backed away. K.O. stared at it from behind a bush. The device sat there and nothing else happened. K.O. then started to creep up slowly, with a stick in hand. He got within poking distance, paused, and gave the center blue ring a poke.

The ring lit up brightly, and it made a rectangle like projection in front of K.O. He stared at it with wide eyes and extreme curiosity. K.O. reached up and touched the screen. The screen then turned to tv static, and it stayed like that for a minute. It looked like something was trying to come through the signal.

"What's happening?" K.O. said staring at it. "Is someone there? Please be there! I need help!" The static then stopped, and the picture became clear. The screen showed what appeared to be a room. K.O. stared at the screen for a few moments in silence. "Hello?"

"Hey, what's going on?" said a voice coming from the screen. "Who's messing with my equipment?" The voice was hard to make out, but K.O. swore he had heard it before.

"Hello?!" K.O. said frantically. "Dendy?! Mr. Pavel?! Mommy?! Anybody!?" He heard shuffling noises from the screen. The noises got louder, and Dendy's face came into view.

"What is going on with you, hackpack?" she said as she came into frame. She then looked up and shock came over her face

"K.O.?!" she said.

"Dendy!" K.O. said.


	3. A Useful Device

Dendy stared at K.O., shock still overcoming her face.

"K-K.O.?!" she stuttered. "You're alive! You would not believe how worried I've been!"

"Oh, Dendy I'm so happy to see you!" K.O. said excitedly. "You would not believe what I've been through the past few days! It's been horrible! It's cold out here, I'm hungry, my powers aren't working right, I think I got a rash on my-"

"K.O. STOP!" Dendy yelled. "Calm down. We can reflect on your story later. Do you have any idea where you are?"

"I don't know where I am, and I can't remember anything from the past few days."

"Interesting. Possible slight Amnesia from impact after the launch."

"Launch?" K.O. said scratching his head. "What launch?"

"Perhaps I should start from the beginning. A few days ago, you and I walked to the bodega after school, where I gave you the object you are viewing me on."

"I remembered you giving it to me. I kept trying to get it to do something over the past few days, and I finally got it open a few minutes ago. What is this thing?"

"It's essentially a pocket version of my hackpack. It's an experimental model that I gave to you to test out. Think of it like a phone version. It has a simplified interface with a few main features. The one we're using right now is the video chat feature." Dendy then took out a notepad and began writing on it. "Video function, success."

"Wow. This is great! But, can you get back to what happened?"

"My apologies. Anyways, I gave you the mini hackpack and you went into work. I stayed around the plaza doing some coding and customizing a few Pow Cards. You then texted me after a few hours saying there was a huge rush and you were incredibly worn out. So, I thought I'd be a good friend and bring you a popsicle. But by then time I got there, there was a robot attack."

"Yeah, I'm starting to slowly remember. We were attacked by Shannon and an army of Raymonds and Jethro. We beat them pretty handily."

"Then they summoned a giant Daryl robot."

K.O. stopped in his tract. "I REMEMBER NOW!" K.O. then had a flashback. The giant Daryl robot was summoned, and it created a forcefield around it, trapping K.O. inside. "He was there just for me. Cowboy Daryl must have saw me as the biggest threat, or something."

"We tried to break the forcefield down, but it was no use. You put up a good fight however."

"I did some damage, but he hit really hard. I punched him so much, that's how I bruised my knuckles. He wore me down, which explains why I felt sore."

"He then grabbed you and attempted to shoot you with a laser. You managed to jump out of his grasp and attempted to punch his eye. He then attempted to shoot you, and there was an explosion. It created a smoke cloud throughout the plaza, and we heard you screaming as your voice faded away. We weren't able to see where you landed."

"I remember flying through the air, and then I blacked out. I guess I blacked out upon impact."

"It would appear the impact also affected your memory. You might have some slight head trauma and a possible concussion if your memory was affected from the impact."

"That doesn't sound good. At least now I know what happened. Now we just have to figure out where I am, so you guys can find me."

"The mini hackpack does have a built-in map function. Try bringing it up."

K.O. gave a look of uncertainty. "Uh, how?" he said smiling nervously and rubbing the back of his head.

"It's a touchscreen interface, K.O. Take your finger and touch the right side of the screen."

K.O. did as instructed and touched the right side of the screen. A huge circle appeared, looking like a home button on a phone. He pressed it, and he was taken to a menu looking like a phone user interface.

"Woah," K.O. said. "Let's see. Video chat, internet, coding, games, emulators... MAP!" He pressed the icon quickly, a rotating circle icon with "tracking location," below it appeared. K.O. squatted up eagerly and down with wide eyes. "If you can track me, you can find me, and I'll be out of here!" His dreams were quickly dashed as the app crashed on him and took him back to the video chat.

"Seems the map function is not ready," Dendy said. She took out the notepad again and was about to start writing.

"DENDY!" K.O. said angrily. "This is bad! I need to get out of here! I don't think I can survive in here! There are all these weird robot animals, and bees, AND MORE BEES!"

"Calm yourself K.O.," Dendy said. "My apologies for being too focused on my work. I do understand you are not it a desired predicament. People of the plaza have been searching for you for the past few days."

"Oh my gosh that reminds me!" K.O. said in a sudden realization. "I need to talk to my mommy! She's probably freaking out right now! I also need to let Rad and Enid know I'm ok! Is there any way you can take your hackpack to the plaza?"

"I can, K.O. While I do so, tell me everything that's happened over the past few days and describe the locations you've been. This might help us determine a potential location."

K.O. picked up the mini hackpack and began walking, telling Dendy his tale. He told her everything, from the cybermokeys, the cyberbear attack, and being chased by bees. "And I then I fell off a ledge down a waterfall. It's been horrible out here. I'm surprised T.K.O. hasn't had anything to say."

"Quite the fascinating story, K.O.," Dendy said.

"I thought it would be easy and I would be home by now. Eating spaghetti and watching Dynamite Watkins on the news with mommy and Mr. Gar." K.O. then sat down against a tree, tired. "I just wish this was all over," he said sadly.

"I'm surprised by your demeanor, K.O. I don't believe I've ever seen you so downtrodden. But I think I can raise your spirits. I have arrived at the plaza." She then hit a button and the camera shifted from her face to the front of the Bodega.

"The bodega," K.O. said as his eyes sparkled. "I never thought I'd see you again! Oh, if I could just go inside you one more time!"

"You might want to phrase that better next time K.O. I believe your mom and Mr. Gar are in here. I'm sure they'll be relieved to know you're safe."

Dendy then walked into the store. Gar and Carol were standing next to a shelf, talking.

"He has to be out there somewhere Gene," Carol said, with a worried look on her face. "He's tough enough to survive a crash, and smart enough to find a way to survive. I know he's out there somewhere. I know my son, Gene. He's probably out there waiting for us to find him"

"I'm trying to stay optimistic, Carol, but it's been three days," Gar said. "We've looked at all the nearby areas, sent out search parties, I even reached out to an old friend at P.O.I.N.T., we haven't found anything. I think it might be time we…"

Carol's face turned to pure anger. She grabbed Gar and pinned him against one of the shelves. "Don't even THINK about saying that!" she said in a furious rage.

"Carol! Calm down!" Gar responded as he pushed her off him, and then gripped her by the shoulders. "I want to find him too! I want to keep looking, but we've exhausted all our resources!"

"I'm not giving up on my boy, Gene!" Carol screamed back, pushing Gar off her. "I raised him by myself! He's all I got left! Especially after his father…"

"Mommy! Mr. Gar! Please stop! I'm ok!" K.O. said, with a worrying look on his face.

Carol looked over and her face lit up. She let go of Gar and rocketed towards Dendy's screen. "K.O.!"

She stopped in front of the screen and her eyes watered up. "K.O. sweetie! Where are you? Are you hurt? Are you ok?" Tears started to streak down.

K.O. started to shed tears as well. He smiled. "I'm ok, mommy. I'm ok."


	4. Explanation and Exposition

Gar stood there, motionless. He took off his glasses, wiped them, and out them back on. He couldn't find the words to say, but he felt terrible for arguing with his mother right in front of him.

Carol wiped the tears from her eyes. "I'm sorry you had to see me like that honey. I've been a wreck the past few days. We've been looking everywhere for you."

"And I've been trying to get back to the plaza the past few days," K.O. said. "You won't believe the things I've seen mommy! I even fought off a robotic bear!"

"A robotic bear, huh?" Carol said sitting down against the counter. "I bet that was something."

"And then I got chased by bees," K.O said awkwardly while looking away and rubbing his arm.

"Wait, robo bears?" Gar said as he walked over to the others. "K.O., describe the bear to me. This sounds familiar."

"Well it looked mostly bear in its body, but it's face was half metal and had this menacing red eye," K.O. said. "It punched me really hard in the eye and pinned me against a tree. It moved really fast and wasn't even on all fours."

"That sounds…"

"There was also a group of cyber robot monkeys that had the same metal face and eye. They also could turn their hands into cannons and shoot pellets. They also threw this mud that smelt really REALLY bad," K.O. said as he held his nose."

"Jeez kiddo," Carol said. "Sounds like you've had quite the wild time."

"Cybermonkeys… cyberbears…" Gar pondered. He then came to a realization. "Oh no…"

Carol looked up at Gar. "Gene, what do you know? Where is he?"

Gar took in a breath. "Nobody freak out with what I'm about to say."

Carol stood up and got in Gar's face. "Gene! Where is he?"

"He's in the Kunai Forest," he said. "He has to be."

"Hey, Enid taught me about Kunai one time," K.O. said. "They sound really cool. Maybe that's a good sign."

"Is it Gene?" Carol asked/

"Far from it," Gar said. "The Kunai forest was a place where ninjas were prevalent. It was vast and covered with trees. Time went on and the forest was slowly abandoned. Its sheer size made it easy for hikers to get lost, and many times they stayed lost."

"It's also located far south from the plaza," Dendy said, who was reading information from her phone. "It's also somewhat isolated, located on a small island in the middle of a body of water."

"It was officially declared an endangerment to the public after a failed boxmore experiment," Gar continued. "He attempted to use an army of robot animals to take over the plaza. Needless to say, he failed. He created so many of them that he had to dump them all in the forest."

"That explains why they've been so aggressive," K.O. said rather somberly. He then sat down, and a look of defeat came over his face. "So, I'm lost, in a forest surrounded by water, far away from the plaza, with Boxmore robots that want to kill me…" His voice trailed off, and a tear started to role from his eye. "Guess I'll never make it home…"

"That's not the K.O. I know," Dendy said. "The K.O. I know would normally dive head first into a challenge such as this. The K.O. I know, and love would take on such a challenge. Even if he knew it was near impossible."

"She's right K.O.!" Carol said. "You can't just give up in the face of adversity! That's not what heroes do!"

"But now I know I'm super far away!" K.O. exclaimed. "I have to find my way out of this forest AND cross the water! You heard Mr. Gar mommy, people die here! No one has ever come in here and gotten back out."

"That doesn't mean it can't happen sweetums! You must at least try! You could be the first one ever to make it out of Kunai forest! Now how cool would that be?" Carol said in an encouraging tone.

K.O. put his hand under his chin and thought about this.

"She's right, K.O.," Gar said. "Just because it hasn't been done doesn't mean it's completely impossible."

"Even when I run the statistics, there is still possibility of survival, K.O.," Dendy said. "Numbers don't lie."

K.O.'s face changed to be a bit more optimistic, be he still felt unsure about the situation.

"Come on sweetie," Carol said. "Wouldn't it be cool to be able to brag to Rad and Enid that you're the lone survivor of the Kunai Forest? Who knows, you might even get a level up for such an accomplishment."

K.O.'s face lit up. "You guys are right!" he said excitedly. "I can do this! It'll be really tough, but I can do this," he said as he did a fist pump.

"Thatta boy, K.O.," Gar said. "Plus, with this weird doo-hickey, we can communicate with you and give your assistance."

"That's correct," Dendy said. "The mini hackpack has unlimited battery. You'll be able to communicate with my hackpack 24/7. And maybe with a little bit of coding," Dendy said as she adjusted her glasses, causing them to flash, "I might be able to send your signal to everyone's phone via a mobile app, allowing multiple people to be on call at once."

"Wow!" K.O. said. "That would be awesome! It's like someone doing a livestream on their video channel!"

"Precisely," Dendy said. She then got a text and saw she needed to head home. "My father is telling me I need to walk home. Ms. Kincaid, if you can be careful with my hackpack, I'll gladly let you take it home, so you can continue your conversation with K.O."

"Thank you, Dendy," Carol said. "I'll it back by here tomorrow. I'm sure K.O.'s friends would love to see him."

"Then I shall return tomorrow," Dendy said. "Goodnight, K.O. Do not let your spirits deteriorate. We're all rooting for you."

"Goodnight Dendy," K.O. responded. "Thanks for the mini hackpack. It'll be a huge help!"

Dendy then went home. Carol and Gar went back to Carol's house with Dendy's hackpack in hand and they talked with K.O. all the way home.

They eventually got home, and Carol put the hackpack on the bunk above the couch.

"You need to get some sleep, K.O.," Carol said. "As soon as the morning come, start moving and look for food. I'll call you whenever I wake up. It might be awhile though. I haven't slept since you went missing."

"Ok mommy," K.O. said. "I've had a long day anyway. I'm just glad I can talk you. I really want to be home."

"I know sweetie. I know," Carol said as she put her hand up to the screen. "I love you. Keep spirits high."

"I love you too mommy," K.O. said. "Goodnight mommy. Goodnight Mr. Gar."

"Night K.O.," Gar said.

K.O. shut off the device and sat up against a tree. He looked up at the sky and smiled. In a day that felt like utter hell, he was glad to see his mom again. He went to sleep, feeling optimistic about what was likely going to be a huge adventure for him.


	5. Long Distance Reunion

Carol sat down on the couch and put her chin on her hands.

"Carol…" Gar began. "I-I'm…"

"They told me it wouldn't be easy, Gene," Carol responded.

"Who said what?" Gar asked in confusion.

"After what happened to Laserblast, I was devastated. But soon after I left P.O.I.N.T., I found out I was pregnant. Some people told me I should give the baby up for adoption and continue fighting. I didn't want to. Everyone told me it wasn't going to be easy, even my mother, who was the only one who told me to raise the baby."

Gar sat there in silence. He had left P.O.I.N.T. after the incident as well but had no direct interaction with Carol again until years after.

"I knew it was going to be rough, but I wanted to have this baby," Carol said. "And I did. K.O. was born a healthy, baby boy. I swore I'd protect him, and raise him to be a kindhearted, compassionate boy. For his age, he's become so strong, but I still worry sometimes. Things like T.K.O., school bullies, and the number of villains out there that want his head. But no matter what, he's always had someone there as support, whether it be me, you, or his coworkers."

"Where are you going with this Carol?" Gar asked, concerned.

"As a mother, often I've feared what might happen to him. Even with all his support, I still worry. He's my boy, Gene. He's all I've got. And now he's out there, alone, scared, and no idea how to get back…" Her voice trailed off. Tears began to stream down her face, and she began sobbing.

"Carol don't be sad," Gar said as he sat on the couch, and wrapped his arm around her. "He's ok right now. Seeing your face and hearing your voice gave him rejuvenation. Now that I know he's alive, I have faith he'll make it back. While we can't be there to help me physically, we can still help keep his spirits high."

"I don't know Gene. This is something that's too big for someone his age. Grown adults have gone into that place and never been seen again. I know I gave K.O. encouragement to make it out, but that was just a face. I didn't want him to think I have doubts."

"Just remember, Carol: K.O. isn't your ordinary kid. He's your son. He's got your blood, your genes, and your courageous spirit."

Carol stopped crying and smiled. "Oh Gene…"

"He'll be fine, Carol," Gar said. "Just believe in him."

 **THE NEXT MORNING**

Enid was walking to work, lost in her thoughts. It had been two days since she had seen K.O. Usually if K.O. was launched after an explosion, he'd show up a few minutes later, usually all chipper and happy for winning the fight.

As she walked into the plaza, Rad had parked and was climbing out of his van. "Oh, hey Enid," he said in a monotone voice.

"Hey…" Enid responded. The two walked together through the parking lot up to the bodega.

"No sign of him yet, huh?" Rad asked.

"As far as I'm aware," Enid said. "I just don't understand. He usually comes back so quickly. You know how much he hates missing work. He even came to work when he had the flu."

"And he stayed after hours so he could mop the bathrooms," Rad said. "I miss the little dude. I really hope he's ok."

"I've heard you speak so somberly, Rad."

"Yeah well, I'm just not feeling myself today," Rad said. "What's the point of acting all cool when your greatest fan is nowhere to be seen?"

The two walked into the bodega and began setting up for the day. Mr. Gar was nowhere to be found. The two got everything set up and opened the store. They sat and waited for a customer, but no one was coming in.

"I guess yesterday was the day everyone did their shopping," Rad said. "My arms are still sore from yesterday."

"I think K.O. had it the worst," Enid responded. "He was getting run over, tossed around, and I think a few people even screamed at him for one reason or another."

"Yeah, I felt bad for the kid. Then we had to fight that dumb giant Daryl robot and… Do you think he might be dead?"

"Rad! Why would you say that?!" Enid shouted angrily.

"Woah! Calm down Enid!" Rad said. "I didn't actual mean that."

"Then why say it?! You know how worried I am? We don't know where he is, and he's just a kid. I lost my mind getting lost at a superstore when I was seven. Imagine what he's going through out in the wild, or wherever he is?"

Rad tried to respond but ended up rubbing the back of head. "I'm… sorry. I miss the little dude too."

The two then sat in silence for a while they waited for customers, their boss, or something to happen.

Meanwhile, earlier that morning, K.O. woke up with newfound energy.

"Alright, time to find my way out of here, and home to the Plaza!" he exclaimed. Then his stomach rumbled. "But first I need to find some food."

He jumped up and began walking. He once again found himself surrounded by many trees. He punched a couple of them to see if they had that fruit, and eventually got lucky, knocking one out of a tree. He immediately ate it.

"Not as good as spaghetti but gets rid of my hunger." He continued to walk, occasionally pulling out the mini hackpack to see if anybody would pick up. It was still relatively early, so he wasn't too surprised when no one picked up. "Probably asleep. Kinda wish I had someone to talk to."

Another monkey came up to K.O.'s side, and it looked like it was ready to attack, but K.O. immediately gave it a punch. "Not you!" he said loudly. He then heard a mighty roar behind him. He turned around to see another bear charging at him. "Oh, come on! This time, I'm not backing down!"

The bear charged at K.O. on all fours. As it got close, K.O. jumped over it, and shot a power fist at his back. While his power was still weakened, he managed to do some damage to the bear's back. It turned around, roared again, and started swiping at K.O. K.O. dodged from left to right as the bear swiped at him, and he also blocked a few of the swipes.

"I'm getting sick of this!" K.O. said. He slid under the bears legs and began to run. "Come and get me!" The bear once again charged at full force. K.O., who was running with his arms spread, quickly ran straight towards a nearby tree, where he took a few steps up it before somersaulting off. The bear banged against the tree, temporarily dazing it. As K.O. was falling towards the ground, he spun around and shot another power fist at the bear, hitting it and jamming its head into the tree trunk.

The bear's electrical circuits shorted out and his body combusted. "Woohoo!" K.O. said, putting his arms into the air. His celebration was cut short by a fruit that hit him on the head. "Ow! At least I have more food." He ate the fruit as he continued walking. He eventually made it out to another clearing, where he rested against a tree. He decided to try giving his mom another call.

Meanwhile, Rad and Enid were still waiting for something to happen at work. Mr. Gar had still not come into work yet.

"Where do you think he is?" Rad asked Enid while he was stocking a shelf. "Whenever I'm three seconds late, he lays into me."

"He's probably with K.O.'s mom," Enid said. "She's probably incredibly worried."

Mr. Gar finally came walking in a few minutes later. He stood in front of the counter, saying nothing.

"Uh, Mr. Gar?" Rad asked.

Gar said nothing still. But a few moments later, Carol came walking into the store, with Dendy's hackpack on her shoulder.

"K.O.'s mom…" Enid began. "Are you doing ok?"

"I'm alright," Carol responded.

"Why do you have Dendy's hackpack on you?" Rad asked

"Because someone wants to say hello," Carol responded. She put down the device and hit a button. The hologram screen popped up again, and a few moments later K.O.'s face emerged.

"Hi mommy!" K.O. said.

"K.O.!" Rad and Enid screamed in unison. They screamed so loud the whole store shook.

"Oh, my glob K.O.! Are you ok? Where are you?" Enid said rapidly.

"Yeah man, you disappeared!" Rad said interrupting Enid. "What happened?"

"I guess that explosion from the Giant Daryll was really strong," K.O. said. "And don't worry, I'm fine. A little weak, but I'm alright. This forest has a lot of food."

"You look roughed up, dude," Enid said. "What has been happening?"

"Well Mr. Gar said Boxmore dumped cyber animals here, and I've been having to deal with them," K.O. said. "I just beat up another cyber bear. Look!" K.O. walked back over to where he lodged the bear into the tree. Everyone in the store let out a collective "Oooo!"

"Good job puddin'!" Carol said.

"Pretty gnarly their little dude," Rad said.

"Good to know you're holding your own buddy," Enid said. "Where are you?"

"He's in the Kunai forest," Gar said. "Not the most ideal place to be."

"It's pretty rough, but I think I can make it," K.O. said.

"Enid hun, you're a ninja," Carol said. "Think you can tell us anything about this place?"

As she asked this, K.O. began walking forward.

"I'm more familiar with the ninja arts than its history, Ms. Carol," Enid said. "But I do know that the ninjas there were very protectful. They'd take out anyone who set foot on the island. Some even believe they still exist on the island and are the reason some have gone missing. What I want to know it, what were they protecting to make them act so violent?"

"I haven't seen anyone since I crash landed," K.O. said. "So, I think I'll be A-Okay!" He did the "ok" symbol with his index finger and thumb, and then immediately tripped off a short ledge. He landed face first into some dirt and dropped the device."

"Ouch," Rad said.

"K.O.!" Carol shouted. "Are you alright?"

K.O., who was still face down, put up his arm and gave a thumbs up. He pulled his face out of the dirt and wiped some of the dirt off. As he did so, another monkey came up to him and threw the mud, hitting K.O. in the face with it. K.O. immediately punched the monkey, destroying it.

"Geez! Why does this mud smell so bad?!" K.O. said annoyed.

"K.O., I don't think that's…" Rad began. Gar immediately put a hand on Rad's shoulder and stopped him from elaborating further.

"I don't think he needs to know that right now," Gar said quietly. K.O. picked himself back up and started walking again. He walked for a long while, keeping conversation with his friends and mom. He didn't encounter anything unusual for a while. The sun even was starting to shine. He eventually made it to another clearing and sat down against a tree stump.

"You're doing great so far, hun!" Carol said encouragingly.

"Yeah K.O., you're making some good progress," Enid said.

"Not bad for a scrub," Rad said. "I'm a little impressed."

"Hehe, thanks guys," K.O. said. "Hopefully I'm not too far from being out of here." A few moments later, Dendy walked into the store, greeted by the usual cheering of kids. "Dendy!"

"Greetings everyone," she said. "How is your progress coming along, K.O.?"

"I think I'm doing ok," K.O. said. "Mr. Sun came out, so I think I'll be ok," he said as he gave the ok symbol with his fingers.

"Glad to hear it," Dendy responded. "Now I'm going to see if I can track your location with some code, I researched last night." She cracked her finger joints and got right to work.

"Anything we can do to help?" Carol asked.

"The best thing you can do is keep watch over K.O.," Dendy said. "This code is too complicated for most people. Possibly even for me." She got to work typing and tapping on several screens of code.

"I think I'm going to start walking again," K.O. said.

"K.O., I should tell you that the mini hackpack has a feature where you can have it float beside you as you walk," Dendy said. "It should be in the options menu." K.O. stood up and swiped over to the options menu. After a few minutes of browsing, he finally found the option he was looking for. He flipped it on and the hackpack began floating beside him.

"Woah!" K.O. said. "Technology is amazing!" K.O. put his arms in the air in celebration. He then suddenly felt a tremor. The ground started to shake heavily as the sound of very heavy footsteps came into hearing. The steps felt like they were getting closer and closer.

"Uh, mommy, Mr. Gar, what is that?" K.O. said concerned.

"Be on you guard son," Gar said. "That doesn't sound friendly." The heavy footsteps got closer and closer. The nearby bushes began to rustle loudly. K.O. looked over at the rustling bushes and noticed something long and pointy began to emerge. When the creature came into view, Carol let out a loud gasp.

"No way!" Rad said loudly.

"How is it still alive?" Enid said.

"It's back," Gar said.

Carol couldn't say anything as she stared on in shock. She had seen this creature before too.

The creature was a giant mechanical rhino. It was a huge, metallic beast, with a sharp horn. It turned its head and looked at K.O. with a glowing red eye. The eye glowed, and the creature let out a huge, blaring roar that blew K.O. back a few feet as the boy attempted to cover his ears. The boy stared at the beast in horror.

"The beast… after four years… K.O. LOOK OUT!" Carol shouted.

The rhino began charging at K.O., who was paralyzed with fear.


End file.
